We Begin Again

In May, I admit, I needed a break. Then the summer got crazy and I longed for us to be back in school with predictable days, a schedule, time alone with my girls. We had August 29th on the calendar to begin again, but now this week has many interruptions. So I decided to start slow before we get up to full speed. A week of history and science only. Now that sounds like fun.

Over the weekend I had a list of questions to discuss with the girls: What is their favorite part of school; what do they dislike? How can I make learning easier for them? What would they like to do more of, less of? (No, we can't give up math.) What field trips would they like us to pursue? (Liana wants to visit a fashion design studio and explore caves. Arielle wants to see many things in Washington, D.C.) So those things will take a little more planning than, for example, a day at our local zoo.

One thing that came out of our discussion is that Arielle does not want to learn science or history together with Liana. She said the books are below her level and she would like more challenging work. She also said she does not like the creative projects that Liana enjoys so much and prefers worksheets and written work. Okay...what to do now since I had the whole year planned?

I did some research on-line, reading reviews, and exploring new history texts. I already have a hefty science book for her. I came up with The Mystery of History. It is not a high school book, but it appears to be sufficient for now. It also got rave reviews from homeschool moms. What I like about it is that not only will we learn world history, but also the history of the church. I admit I am ignorant when it comes to that. I ordered Volume 3 for Arielle. It picks up where we left off last time.

On vacation this summer the girls did some gem mining and Liana renewed her interest in rocks. All weekend after we got home she organized and studied her rocks, searching websites for more information. I had her science all lined up for the fall, but this is what is wonderful about homeschooling. I asked her if she would like to begin science this year with geology. She was all for it, and I ordered several books from the library. Our first day, waiting for the books, we read about rocks in all the books we already have.

We don't have Arielle's history book yet, but Christian Book Distributors allowed us to download the first four chapters. So she was able to start her work too. At least three times during the day she said to me, "I really like this book." I can honestly say I never said that about any history book I ever had in school.